Five steps Junior Boks must take against Argentina
THE Junior Springboks’ first challenge – before they even run onto the field on Saturday (6pm kickoff) – will be to fire themselves up for their World Rugby Under-20 Championship contest against Argentina. After all, third place isn’t exactly the finish the South Africans were hoping for, but it’s certainly better than fourth.
There will also be some extra spice added to the game considering what happened during pre-season, when Argentina beat the Baby Boks 34-33 in the U20 International Series at Paul Roos back in April. So, here are five steps the Junior Boks must take to secure a revenge win over the hosts.
1. Front up physically
This is one thing the Junior Boks got right in their final pool game against New Zealand last week, and given the French pack, another big forward effort was required in their semi-final meeting on Tuesday. But that is only one of the tests the Baby Boks failed badly in that game, while the defending champions’ pack laid a solid foundation, especially in the first half. A stronger production from the guys in the single-digit jumpers is going to be vital, and putting those backs to use will be ideal. After Tuesday, let’s hope the Junior Boks know that, because judging by the way they were ruined by the French up front, you can’t help but think otherwise.
2. Switch on and avoid yellow
“Terrible” is a pretty accurate description of the descipline the SA U20s showed against Argentina in their warm-up, and they were punished for it. By the time they went into their semi-final, they had collected five yellow cards in three games, with three of those coming against New Zealand. THAT CANNOT HAPPEN against Argentina ... not every team will fail to make the most of a numerical advantage like the Kiwis did.
3. Copy and paste
While there were a number of shortcomings from SA in the semis, they should find themselves in a good space if they manage to copy and paste the quality and intensity of three areas displayed against New Zealand – scrummaging, mauling and defence. After all, it was superb.
4. Adapt and keep it cool
There are few things in rugby that can test a team’s patience as much as a referee who officiates according to his own lawbook. Unfortunately for the Baby Boks, they have had the privilege of dealing with two of those so far. Those Sevens refs would have been enough to drive the most composed teams over the edge but, in saying that, the Junior Boks didn’t do themselves any favours either (against France). It’s important that the Junior Boks make their own luck where they can. And while I’m not suggesting Roux’s team push the boundaries at the offside line, for example (although they deserve a little more than a tap on the shoulder for how they did that against the Kiwis) or do anything extraordinarily sneaky/impressive, if there’s a gap, take it. Given the tactical and execution errors we’ve seen from them, though, it’s best to keep it simple. But again, if there’s something they can use to their advantage where the ref is concerned, take it.
5. Go the distance
Against Scotland and Georgia they started slowly, and against New Zealand they had their gameface on right from the start. But against France, an improved second-half performance wasn’t enough to get the win.
Starting strongly and fading isn’t good enough, and having to play catch-up isn’t much better either.